Noteworthy

The Voice Within

It's my extreme pleasure to introduce to you today the newest COTT staff member, author Gail Pallotta. Gail also happens to be a previous Clash of the Titles Champion! Last November, she took the cyber-laurel for best description of nature. Go, Gail!!

Let's take a moment to get to know this special lady...

Gail’s husband, Rick, says she’s the only person he knows who can go in the grocery for a loaf of bread and come out with someone’s life story. That’s probably because she inherited her mother’s love of people and enjoys talking to them. Working as an editor and freelance writer, Gail published a couple hundred articles. While some of them are in anthologies, two ended up in museums. In 2004, the American Christian Writers Association named Gail a regional writer of the year. She recently published her first romance, Love Turns the Tide. When she isn’t writing she likes reading, swimming, and getting together with friends and family. Gail wants to write books of faith that show God’s love. She and Rick live in Georgia.

Let's all give Gail a hearty COTT welcome, but first, a word from the lady herself. Gail, take it away!

The Voice Within

I’m so honored to be the newest member of Clash of the Titles. I’ve published articles and an e-book, but I’m working hard every day to improve my writing. My goals now include publishing more Christian books. I believe writers need to stay in tune with the times and the markets while they keep writing and listening to their voices.

Gail's Novel

Most published writers face rejection as well as acceptance. But faith, persistence and the belief that one’s worth comes from God can temper the disappointment this brings. Since our lives are constantly changing, the pendulum is always swinging; first, left; then, right; then, left; no back to right. So, in many ways a writer trying to place his or her work is aiming at a moving target.

Often when an editor moves, and they move a lot, the magazine he edited switches its focus. When a new company buys a publishing house, it changes. Fashions vary, the shows we watch on television and movies adapt to society, technology upgrades, the list goes on and on. We no longer live in the same world we did when we were ten years old. Even many churches have altered the way they conduct their services to accommodate people visiting who may be un-churched. When I was growing up, the word un-churched wasn’t in my vocabulary.

Trying to find the right subjects for editors and put information about them in formats following guidelines that may not remain the same from one article or book to the next requires great flexibility and fortitude. As a matter of human nature sometimes we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for until we see it. That can be the case with editors. If asked I imagine many writers would say they have experienced as many let downs as rewards in their careers. Nearly all of them would emphasize the need for determination.

That’s why as writers we need to listen to that voice within that is our gift, because it won’t let us give up. That’s why we must have faith in things that never change, such as God’s love for us, human nature, the presence of good and evil, rain, storms, and the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. When we find one of these truths and write about it so others can enjoy reading it while discovering something that makes their lives better, more meaningful, or more understandable, our perseverance pays off. As Christians we acknowledge that any voice we have comes from God, not us. If we have used it as He would have us do His purpose was accomplished.

Writers do you have stories about your persistence paying off? We’d love to hear them.

Readers have you read books in which you connected to some aspect of human nature or a law of nature? If so, which ones? We’d like to hear about those.

Glad you're here, Gail. Hey, Joanna! Awesome!I'll go back to my fav book, Dandelion Wine to answer your question. It's secular, but speaks to human nature in that I believe it was one of the original "pay it forward" stories. Excellent. Readers can ask me why. :)

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Disclaimer

As of July 2011, each of COTT's participating authors are required to sign a disclaimer stating that there is no foul language, explicit sex, or defaming of the name of Christ in their novels. Because COTT staff cannot review every novel to verify this, please read at your own discretion.